Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Has $9.11 Million Stock Position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,516 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,084 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 1.3% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $9,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $693.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.23.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total transaction of $5,753,421.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $13,106,062. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of TMO stock opened at $520.25 on Tuesday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $196.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $545.44 and its 200-day moving average is $554.91.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.41%.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, and bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.